


I'll be the one (to keep you warm and safe)

by MoonCacti



Series: we'll find each other's arms [4]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Accidental Child Acquisition, F/F, I don't exactly know what the other 10 percent are to be honest, Implied/Referenced Child Neglect, This is like 90 percert pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-26
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2019-05-28 18:41:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15055349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonCacti/pseuds/MoonCacti
Summary: Robin scoffed, running over the last few days’ events in her head; trying to pinpointwhen, exactly, she had become a mother and why wasn't she freaking out about it.Alice, surprisingly, (or maybe not so much considering that she was, well,Alice) fell in her new role like it was always meant to be like this. And who here could say that it really wasn’t?The one where Alice and Robin accidentaly stumble upon a little boy on the woods and maybe fall a little bit in love with him.





	I'll be the one (to keep you warm and safe)

 

Alice and Robin had talked about having kids, of course, they had.

They had been together for _years_ before Drizella’s curse was cast; they had a whole life planned ahead before it was taken away from them. 

Robin was going to propose and they would hold the wedding ceremony in the meadow where they had their very first kiss. Alice's dress would be very colorful; Robin wasn’t sure what she wanted to wear yet, but she liked the idea of getting married during fall.

Their beds at the Enchanted Forest carried many late nights whispered conversations. So many words spoken lazily over bare skin about what their future would be like; where would they go, the things they would do.

Alice wanted lots of children; she once told Robin that 5 was a good number. She wanted their kids to be friends and to always have someone to play in a way she never did, and damn it if Robin wouldn't do anything Alice proposed to her like this.

They wanted their home to be big, somewhere their children would have lots of open space to play and run around.

But like most of all late nights’ conversations, theirs were something almost ethereal too; like an idea of a future they wanted to share one day rather than a concrete plan, nothing tangible. Not yet, anyway.

They wanted to live countless of other things before settling down like that too; there were many realms they hadn't been to yet, many adventures to have together.

And well, it's not like one of them could get the other accidentally pregnant, right?

Robin scoffed, running over the last few days’ events in her head; trying to pinpoint _when_ , exactly, she had become a mother and why wasn't she freaking out about it.

Alice, surprisingly, (or maybe not so much considering that she was, well, _Alice_ ) fell in her new role like it was always meant to be like this. And who here could say that it really wasn’t?

Robin looked over at her fiancée’s sleeping form sprawled over the bed, her head resting over one arm, while her other hand clutched at Robin sleeping tee. Alice was breathing softly, but Robin could see eyes moving under the eyelids; she would probably tell Robin about this dream in the morning.

Robin had lots of theories about why was Alice so good with kids despite only having met one after she was already an adult.

Maybe it was because Alice, in a way, never grew out of her childlike ways; like the world never pressured her to let go of her infancy and became an adult.

She looked at everything with so much awe; a glint in her eye and an excitement to see and touch and explore. And it never ceased to amaze Robin how much the words she said to Alice the day they met still held true, several years later. Alice did have a funny way of looking at the world, and Robin loved that she was the one that could see through Alice's eyes too, the one Alice chose to show the world in wonderful new ways.

And now they get to show that whole new view to a kid. A kid there was theirs. Even thinking about it sent an exhilarating feeling through her body, surpassing the fear that was there too.

Robin smiled as she did whenever she thought about James, the same way she always did when she was thinking about Alice too.

* * *

 

They had met James near the waterfalls on the woods the day before; it was both their day off and the water outside seemed too amazing to waste.

The kid didn't look lost, though he was walking dangerously close to the water; they saw him while they were still a few feet away and had thought that someone else had had the same idea as theirs.

Alice was the one to slowly approach the little boy when they finally noticed that there was no one else there with him.

“Hello.” She said softly to him.

The boy looked at her suspiciously, promptly sticking his thumb inside his mouth.

“ _'llo”_ He mumbled around his finger.

Alice carefully stepped just a little bit closer, afraid that if she startled him, he would fall down in the water or take off running. He looked at them uneasily, but for some reason, not scared.

“My name is Alice. I live not too far away from here. What's your name?” Alice asked him in a placating voice.

The toddler regarded Alice as if appraising her; it didn’t look like he was going to say anything and for a moment Robin worried that he wouldn’t talk to them at all.

But, surprisingly he did.

“I'm James. And I live _hee_.” He paused and then apparently remembered something. James (adorably) straightened his back and extended his right hand to Alice. “ _Pweased_ to meet you," he said confidently to them, even though he couldn’t quite pronounce it right.

Alice giggled and promptly sat down cross-legged on the ground, extending her own hand to take the boy's and shaking it once before letting go.

James couldn’t help but smile at her too.

“Oh. The pleasure is mine, Mr. James.” Alice smiled at him. “See the pretty lady right there?” She pointed behind herself. “That’s Robin. But can I tell you a secret?” She asked him mischievously.

James perked up at that, mimicking Alice's seated position and nodding eagerly.

“Well, she likes it when we call her Nobin.” Alice told him in a faux whisper and James' eyes lightened up.

“Hi, _Nobin_!” He screeched and waved enthusiastically at Robin, making her snort a laugh.

Confident that the boy wouldn’t run from them, at least for now. Robin approached them slowly, plopping down beside Alice.

“Hi, James. It's nice to meet you too. You said you lived here? Like, in the woods?” She inquired.

The little boy looked uneasy again but nodded anyway. “I live with my dad in the cabin. _Theh_!” He pointed somewhere behind their shoulders; Alice turned to seek said cabin, but Robin didn’t dare take her eyes off James. They hadn’t been coming to this particular spot for a while now and had never noticed a cabin there; the trees were too close together in the opposite direction they usually came from.

“Right. What about your mom?” James' only answer was to shrug.

Taking a different approach, Robin tried to think about something else to ask James; something in this situation was off. There was a feeling in the back of her mind making her wish she had brought her bow with her. “How old are you, James? Is your dad around?”

James proudly, and somehow awkwardly, as kids usually do, held three fingers up. “I'm _twee yeas_ old! Look!”

“Oooh.” Alice cooed. “Such a smart little boy!” She clapped, making James puff his little chest.

“I'm not _lee-ol_! I'm big!” He squeaked in indignation.

“Oh yeah, that's what I meant. What a clever, big boy!”

“Yes!”

Robin couldn’t help but find the way the two of them were interacting absolutely adorable.

“James, where's your dad? Are you all alone here?” She kept trying to figure out what was it her instincts were trying to tell her.

“My dad had to go hunt. I eat lots, so he _gots_ to go hunt lots and lots too.” James shrugged good-naturedly.

Robin quietly evaluated the boy letting Alice take over the conversation; he seemed to be a bit small for a three-years-old and at first she had suspected him to be two, but his speech was maybe a bit too good for two-years-old. She analyzed the boy’s small form; it certainly didn't seem like he ate all that much.

It also didn't look like he had had a shower or changed his clothes in a while. His hair was slightly too long and she couldn’t help but notice how tangled and dirt it was; his face too.

“Did your dad go hunting and left you all alone here, James?”

“No, silly.” He giggled. “He left me home! But I came _hee_! I wanted to go swim!” As if remembering his original goal, James sprung to his feet, not even a second later Robin realized what he was about to do; she was quick to reach out with both arms and grab him before he could go far.

He squeaked but was suddenly subdued; tears started to fall down his face “I will be good, I _pwomise_!” Robin quickly got up with James in her arms and walked a few steps away from the water, setting the boy down and crouching to be eye level with him.

“Hey, hey, it's okay James.” Robin spoke softly, holding both arms up. “I won't hurt you. I promise. I just didn't want you to get in the water, it's dangerous.”

James was still petrified where Robin had deposited him, his head bowed, though she could still hear him sniffing.

She looked helplessly at Alice making her way over to them and crouching down too.

Alice reached out a tentative hand towards the little boy. “James.” She called but he wouldn’t look up, flinching when she tried to touch his shoulder. Although she obviously won't try to reach for him again, she still left her hand extended towards him.

“Jamie.” She tried again and at that, he did look up, albeit very hesitantly. “It's okay, love. Nobin was silly, she shouldn't have grabbed you like that, right, Nobin?”

“Yes, I'm very sorry James. Will you forgive me?”

He regarded them both silently before seemingly coming to a decision. “I will _fowgive_ you.” And then, he promptly stuck his thumb inside his mouth again.

Robin exaggerated a sigh of relief for his sake. “Thank you, James. You’re very generous.” She smiled. Alice was taking over the role of being more serious now.

“Although Robin shouldn't have grabbed you like that, Jamie,” Alice started. “She does have a point. You can't jump in the water like that. See, it is very dangerous. The waterfall is very, very, deep and-”

“How deep?” He interrupted, looking doubtful.

Alice jumped to her feet, extending her arm straight above her head. “Deeper than this!” She demonstrated.

“Wow!” James gasped.

“Yeah. So you see, jumping there wouldn't be very wise.”

“But I wanted to swim!”

“I know, but-”

“JAMES!” A Booming voice echoed through the forest around them, making all three frozen for a moment and James' eyes widen in a terrified expression.

“Wh-”

“JAMES! When I find you, I swear I will...” The voice trailed off when a large man appeared through the gap in the trees right in the direction James had pointed earlier.

Robin didn't want to take her eyes off the man, but she couldn’t help but risk a quick look at the boy, he still hadn't turned to face the man who was probably his dad. James looked like he was in shock, his face full of fear.

The feeling on the back of her mind grew louder as if screaming _DANGER!_

The man was rapidly approaching them in large steps, though he did seem to be staggering a bit.

“What the hell is going on here? Who are you? James, how many times have I TOLD YOU?” He screamed again. “COME HERE RIGHT NOW!”

Robin, her instincts taking over, quickly got up to her feet too, moving so she was standing in front of James and Alice before the little boy could move to obey his father.

“I'm sorry, sir. Who are you?” She asked obtusely, trying to gain time to think of a plan.

“I’m the kid’s father, that’s who I am.” His words were slurred now that he wasn’t yelling again. “Now move, before I make you.” The man snarled the last part.

He had stopped just a few feet away from them, but at his words, Robin could see Alice taking James in her arms in the corner of her eye.

And if James didn’t want them to touch him a few moments ago, now he seemed still too petrified to even react.

The man’s face became a mask of pure anger and he took a menacing step ahead, his eyes on Alice.

“Step. Away.” He threatened slowly, still not quite close, but Robin could already smell the stench of alcohol on his breath.

She assessed him quickly; Robin was tall, but he was few inches taller than her. He was big too, though Robin thought it was more fat than muscle, still, he was probably stronger than her. Robin could also see a quiver over his shoulder, a couple of arrows peeking out from behind his shoulder, but no sign of a bow. He must have left it at home. Although a sharp arrow could just as easily be used as a weapon.

“I'm deputy Robin Mills with the sheriff's department of Storybrooke. I reckon you left a three-year-old alone at home. I think maybe we should take this at the station if you could follow me.” Robin was being purposefully long on her introduction, she knew there was no way this man was following her to the station or giving in this easily. She needed to think of a plan, and she needed to think fast.

He was very noticeably quite drunk, but even so, she wasn’t too confident in her chances to take him in a hand to hand fight.

James seemed to be frightened of his own father; but even if he wasn’t, the man was obviously intoxicated and still had left a toddler home alone.

There was no way Robin was handing this kid back to this man.

He seemed to process her words very slowly.

“Mills? Like the Queen?” From everything she said was that the only thing he registered? He looked scared for half second, but then took another unsteady step forward; his boots making a loud noise as if he couldn’t quite control his body.

Must be even drunker than he looked.

And then it was like a light bulb went off on Robin's head. That's it! Boots!

Robin, as inconspicuously as she could, shifted slightly to gently hit the heel of her right boot against the left three times.

“Look,” the man was even closer somehow, she hadn’t noticed it. Robin could feel Alice's hand reach for hers from where she still was behind her. She softly squeezed Alice's hand, to reassure herself as much as Alice, they both took a small step backward.

The thing was, they had been in a lot of seemingly worst situations over the years. Though the odds were never so against them as they were this time; their opponent was bigger and angry, and carried something that could possibly be used as a weapon. Robin didn’t have anything she could use to defend them, and for the thousandth time is so many minutes she berated herself for not bring her bow with her.

There was also nowhere to run; the man was blocking their way and behind them was the waterfall. And worst of all, they could still try and fight him, but they also had to think about the security of the little boy.

Robin only hope was that her mom would get her signal.

“Just give me back the kid and everything can be _a-okay_. I don’t want any confusion.” He smiled lecherously, his words slurring. “But make no mistakes; I'm not letting no woman take me anywhere. Unless it's to th-” the rest of his words were cut off as a swirl of green smoke appeared from thin air, dispersing slightly to show Zelena and Killian waking out of it.

_Finally_.

The man looked confused for a moment, taking a step back, and Robin took the opportunity to move away from him and closer to her mother, pulling Alice by the hand with her.

“What's going on here?” Killian was taking on the situation, looking suspiciously at the man and then at his daughter and her fiancée. He placed his hand at the gun on his hip but didn’t take it out of the holster yet. “Alice, is everything okay?”

The man started talking before either woman could even muster a word, taking notice of the badge strapped to Killian belt. “Officer! I just-” He stopped to hiccup. “I just came home to find those women trying to kidnap my son!”

Killian looked at them both, arching an eyebrow at the kid on Alice’s arm, before turning to the man again.

“Robin. Alice. Care to tell me what did we just walk in?” He spoke looking directly at the man, though his words were meant for the girls.

“Sheriff, we found this young boy alone near the water. We were trying to figure out what was going on when this man showed up. The kid looks scared of him.” Robin related in her “deputy voice” as Alice liked to call it; straightforward and all business.

The man growled again, forgetting the audience and taking another step towards Robin, his face heating up in anger. He moved his arm to reach behind his shoulder in a practiced move to retrieve an arrow.

But before he could get too close there was a waft of green smoke and suddenly he was rooted to the ground, literally frozen in his place.

Killian relaxed slightly, taking his hand from the gun and looking at both girls. “Starfish, explain to me what the bloody hell did we just walk in. Who is that man, really? And what about the kid?”

Alice and Robin exchanged a glance, having an entire conversation in a second.

Robin was the one to speak; James was still clutched in Alice's arm, his face hidden on her neck, though she could no longer hear his muffled cries.

Taking a deep breath Robin tried to summarize as best as she could what had happened before Killian and Zelena had shown up.

Alice was uncharacteristically silent during Robin's retelling of the events, rubbing James back in a soothing manner. “Robin is right, there's something very wrong with this man. It hasn't felt right since he showed up.”

Zelena was quiet too, observing Robin and Alice but not saying a word, which was also very weird.

“Well, darlings. I bet Killian has enough to put this man away, after what you just told us. Abandoning a child must certainly be a crime. Right, Sheriff?”

Killian sighed wearily, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.

“Actually...”

“What?” Zelena challenged. “Take a look at that man. He doesn't look like someone that should be around kids!” She threw her arms up in frustration.

“I know, I know. And I agree, aye? It's just… We don't have enough to lock him up.” Alice and Robin were about to say something, loudly, by the look on their faces, but Killian put one of his hands up, motioning for them to wait. “We can take him to the station for the night, to sleep off his hangover. And we can call social services in the morning to take in the boy. We can charge him for abandonment, but that won't actually get him locked up. I'm sorry, love.” The last sentence was said directly to Robin

The silence hung heavily around them until Alice broke it. “But even if he can’t stay in jail for long he won't be able to keep James, right Papa?” Her hold on the boy tightened; there was a slight edge of desperation to her voice and Robin moved closer to her instinctively, their hands still joined.

Killian and Zelena were the ones exchanging looks this time. “We'll do whatever we can to prevent it, Starfish.” He paused for a beat. “Uh, look, can you keep the kid for the night? We can call social services in the morning, but...”

Alice quickly looked at Robin, “We can.”

“Good. Now we just n-”

“Wait. What were the two of you doing together anyway? I mean, when I called for help?” Robin interrupted, looking quizzically at her mom.

“My dear daughter, did you forget the dinner we were supposed to be having right now?” Zelena quirked an eyebrow.

“Oh, I didn't realize it was this late.” And she really hadn't; she and Alice had left home to come here just after they had finished lunch.

“As I was saying,” Killian cleared his throat, “we should probably take this party to the station. Zelena, do you think you could, erm...” He made a vague gesture with his hand.

“Yes, of course!” Zelena answered brightly. “But perhaps the girls should skip this and go directly home? It was quite the excitement they had today.”

“Aye.”

“Then we should go. Robin, darling, could you be a dear and explain to Chad what happened, I will be back as soon as I can. But I think that I'll be stopping at Snow's to see if she has anything that can fit this boy; looks like he is in dire need of a bath.” And so she wrinkled her nose in a true Zelena fashion.

 

Zelena dropped Alice and Robin home first, before _poofing_ herself along with Killian and the man they still hadn’t learned the name to the station.

Alice and Robin entered home to find Chad sitting in their living room, and after being explained what just happened, he moved to the kitchen to figure something to make for dinner for all of them and make a hot chocolate for when James woke up.

The kid had fallen asleep at some point during their confrontation with his father, and Robin had a suspicion that Alice’s magic had something to do with it; his dirty face was pressed on the crook of Alice’s neck and his hands were gripping the material of her t-shirt inside tiny little fists.

Alice carefully managed to pry the little boy's hands from the fabric and set him down on the couch; he woke up immediately as soon as he wasn’t inside Alice’s arms anymore.

Robin crouched down to be eye level with him.

“So, Jamie.” He seemed to like the nickname. “How do you feel about spending the night with Alice and me? We could have a sleepover.” Robin asked him, trying to maybe cheer him a little bit, though he was not crying anymore his face looked grim and he kept looking around their living room with mistrust.

“ _Whe_ is my dad?” He probably hadn’t understood anything that had just happened.

Robin was hesitant at that, looking at Alice for support, and getting a squeeze on her shoulder back. How do you explain a situation like this to a child his age?

“Erm…” She cleared her throat. “Look, he had to go somewhere else and we told him we would look after you, alright?” Is what she ended up telling the kid; they would have to figure out how to explain to him the truth tomorrow.

James shrugged again and they waited for him to say something. “I don't like staying alone. And sometimes dad yells, even when I'm good.” He looked down, fidgeting with a button on his dirty shirt.

“Then I promise that you’ll be safe here; no yelling of staying alone. Is that cool?”

He nodded once, still not looking up. Alice was the one to speak next. “Wanna know another secret?” And just like the first time, James looked up, nodding eagerly at her. “My Nobin here never breaks a promise.”

“ _Weally_?” He turned to look at Robin.

“Yeah, really.” Robin couldn’t help but smile at him, wishing everything in life was as easy as to gain the trust of a small kid, and at the same time vowing to never break it.

“When dad will come back?” James looked all too serious again and Robin and Alice exchanged another look. Now that was a trick question.

Robin cleared her throat, trying to think of what to tell him.

“Well. Tonight you will stay here with Alice and me, and tomorrow we’re going to, uh…” She hesitated, searching for Alice’s eyes again.

“Tomorrow is another day and we will see how it goes. How about that?” Alice sat down beside James on the couch; reaching out to rest a hand on his shoulders and making him look up at her.

James smiled tentatively at her, guess it was good enough for him for now.

***

Zelena let herself in with Killian trailing behind not too much later after that, carrying a bag of old clothes from Neal.

Alice had taken James to the bathroom where the boy had happily sat in the bathtub, apparently never having seen one before. He didn't even notice Alice shampooing and then brushing his hair while he was navigating a rubber duck they had for some reason over the soapy water.

Robin took the clothes thankfully and moved to the bathroom, Killian, and Zelena walking to the kitchen to see what Chad was up to.

“Hey, James. I got some clothes for you to sleep in.”

The boy had a soapy mohawk on top of his head, being held up by a lot of conditioner apparently.

“To me?” He squealed, splashing a lot of water when he waved excitedly.

“Yeah, why don't you come out and chose something you'd like to wear?”

James promptly got up and was about to climb out of the tub when Alice held him by the shoulders laughing at his antics. “How about we rinse your hair first, huh?” She asked him gently.

“Okay!”

After finally finishing his bath, James chose a pair of the smallest sweatpants Robin had ever seen in her life to wear, and Alice helped him get into a bright yellow t-shirt and a pair of socks.

James looked like a completely different boy. His hair was wavy and light brown, resting just above his shoulder; they hadn’t even noticed the freckles covering his nose and cheeks before.

After his bath, James seemed to become very tired, walking behind Alice's leg and taking his surroundings in, something he didn't worry to do before. He looked weary as if it suddenly dawned on him that somehow, something had changed drastically in his life.  

When the three of them walked inside the kitchen, the conversation stopped abruptly and everyone turned to stare at them; James became very shy at that, hiding behind one of Alice’s legs.

Chad was the one to move first, getting the cup of hot cocoa he made for James and setting it down on the table, then crouching down to talk to James.

“Hello, James. Do you think you would like a cup of some very nice hot chocolate I made?” He spoke softly, but James only looked up at Alice as if asking her what was okay. He looked now a thousand times timider than ever, distrustful of everything and everyone. Except for Alice.

Robin looked down and smiled at him. “You know what? Chad makes a really great hot chocolate, would you like a lift to sit on the chair and try it?”

James looked at Alice again, but then turned to Robin and nodded his head.

The chair wasn't made for a child though, and he couldn't reach for the cup, only after a nudge of Robin's hand could he finally take the cup on his hands, taking a slow sip as all the adults watched him.

James' eyes widened, and he looked up at all of them in amazement. “What's this?” He asked before taking another, bigger, sip. “I love it!” He squealed.

And just like that everyone was at ease again.

“As I said before, that's some very nice hot chocolate I made for you.” Chad winked at James, sounding immensely proud of himself right then. “Have you never had hot chocolate before?”

“Nope.” James shook his head from side to side and didn't pay them any more attention, too entertained by his beverage.

Chad had also made sandwiches for dinner for all of them but James didn't want any; he just sat there quietly while everyone else ate and made small talk, afraid to talk about what happened earlier in front of the little boy.

Everyone looked at James when they saw him yawning, but when Alice asked if he wanted to go to bed already, he just said no.

Another ten minutes later his head was already dropping, and when Robin asked this time he didn't protest, going willingly when he noticed Alice getting up too and lifting his arms up for her to pick him up. He was out like a light before they even reached the bedroom.

Alice laid him down under the covers on the air mattress Robin had set up for him beside their bed, covering him with a comforter. They silently walked out of the room and walked to join everyone else in the living room, leaving a lamp on in case he woke up.

For a moment, while Alice and Robin settled down on the couch, no one dared to say anything.

Zelena broke the silence first, clearing her throat. “I will admit I wasn't quite expecting to be a grandma this early in your relationship.” Robin chocked on air, apparently. “Certainly not before the actual wedding.” Zelena ignored her daughter, amusedly watching Alice rub her back.

“Mom!” Robin squeaked when she didn't feel like she was dying anymore. “And what do you mean this early on our relationship? We’ve been together for years!” She whisper-yelled at her mom as to not disturb James in the other room.

“Really?” Zelena asked disbelievingly, taking a sip of whatever was it she was drinking. “That's what you're choosing to focus on?” She arched an eyebrow at her daughter.

Robin spluttered and looked over at Alice who was already looking back at her, seemingly amused at the whole situation. Chad and Killian were watching silently.

***

“What do you want to do?” Alice asked when they were finally alone later that night.

Robin was laying on her side against the back of the couch with Alice's back pressed firmly against her front, there was a movie playing on mute on the TV, though none of them were paying it any attention.

Robin pondered over what to answer; she wasn't very sure about what she wanted. “I don't know.” She said softly, deciding that honesty was always the best policy.

Alice was quiet for a moment, her hand playing with the ring on Robin's hand that was holding her by the waist.

“What do you think will happen to James?” Alice sounded so vulnerable asking that Robin tightened the hold she had on her, not leaving an inch of space between their bodies.

“He will probably be placed on Foster care.”

“Oh.” Was all Alice said and even if Robin couldn't see her face she knew that Alice was frowning.

“What is it, love?”

“Is just that I...” Alice stopped herself and drew in a deep breath, releasing it slowly before continuing with gritted teeth. “ _Tilly_ grew up in Foster care too. I know the memories aren’t real, but still, they're not very nice.”

Robin knew all about that; she and Alice had spent countless sleepless nights talking about the lives of their cursed selves, but Robin hadn't made the connection until Alice mentioned it. She kissed the back of Alice's head before speaking again.

“I know.” Robin took in a deep breath too. “But Storybrooke is different; maybe it won't be bad for him.”

“Maybe," Alice repeated unconvincingly.

Robin knew she was still frowning; she knew what Alice wanted to do, and to an extent, she wanted that too; truth was that she was just too scared of it.

Alice didn't say anything after that and Robin fell silent too; she needed to sort through all the thoughts swimming through her head and she needed to do it fast.

* * *

 

The digital number on the bedside alarm showed that it was 3:17 in the morning, and why the hell was Robin awake?

“ _Nobin_?” She heard someone whispering almost too low to be heard. She shifted to look at Alice but her fiancée was still snoring lightly on her side. Robin frowned. Then what-

A faint poke on her side made Robin turn to look at her left, and oh, there was the reason.

James stood on the air mattress in all his freckled glory under the amber light of the lamp they had let on for him, staring uneasily at Robin with his big brown eyes.

“James, hey.” She croaked, blinking at the boy. “What is it?”

“I have to go potty.” James told her, and Robin noticed that he was shifting from one foot to another.

_Right_.

She quietly got up and walked James to the en-suite bathroom, turning the light on for him and waiting outside the open door until she heard him flush the toilet; a few seconds later his head peeked out the door at Robin.

“I can't _weach_ the sink.” He whispered to her and Robin could feel the corners of her mouth lifting in a small smile.

“Alright.” She walked inside to help him.

When James was done washing his hands he promptly told Robin that he was hungry too and she had trouble holding in her laughter. Robin didn't even bother setting him down, just tightened her hold on him and walked in the direction of the kitchen, turning on the lights as she went because James clearly was afraid of the dark.

She set him down on the kitchen countertop and moved to the fridge to see what she could come up with for him.

“Would you like a sandwich, James?”

“Yep.” He said simply and Robin turned to look at him, he was staring right back at her. He wasn’t smiling but also didn't look uneasy anymore; Robin counted that as progress and turned back to look inside the fridge, she could hear James swinging his legs back and forth on the counter.

She grabbed a few things from the fridge and set to work on a sandwich beside James, smiling at him occasionally when she caught him looking at her. 

Robin finished the simple ham and cheese sandwich she had made and cut off the crust (most kids didn't like it, right?) before cutting it in two triangles and giving one to James. He bit eagerly and Robin realized he must have been really hungry; the only thing he had had since they came back was a hot cocoa and probably nothing before that.

“Do you want a hot cocoa too?” She asked James, remembering how much he had loved it.

His whole face lighted up at that and he turned to look at Robin in awe.

“I can?”

“Sure.” She told him and watched in amusement as he fist-pumped the air. There was no stopping Robin's laughter now.

James ended up eating the whole sandwich plus the hot chocolate Robin made him; he had almost fallen asleep again before they even gotten inside the bedroom, only mumbling a “ _night night_ ” when Robin pulled the covers over him, and then he was out like a light.

Robin smiled down at him, whispering a good night that she doubted he had even heard.

Alice scooted over immediately after Robin had laid down, throwing a leg over her waist and gripping Robin's T-shirt, resting her head on Robin's chest.

“Where were you?” Alice murmured sleepily, her voice muffled on Robin's skin.

“James was hungry," Robin whispered back, slipping a hand under Alice's shirt and rubbing soft circles on her skin.

Alice just hummed and the next second she was fast asleep too, Robin quickly following suit.

* * *

 

Robin woke up late that next morning, well, later than she usually does.

The sheets on Alice's side were cold and when Robin peeked at the air mattress on the side of the bed, James wasn't there either.

Guess she was the only person on this house who is definitely not a morning person.

She found James and Alice in the kitchen; James was chatting idly and sipping from a plastic cup Robin never saw before while Alice was cutting up some fruit, nodding as if agreeing with whatever was it James was talking about.

James was the one to see her first, stopping mid-sentence while his eyes brightened and the biggest smile stretched over his face. “ _Nobin_!” He squealed excitedly and it was a good thing that the plastic cup had a lid too.

Alice’s head snapped up at that, her smile threatening to split her face too; from her place at the doorway, Robin felt something warm spreading from her chest down to every part of her body as if she was being hugged by the sun and instead of burning up it just made her feel comfortable.

She took a few steps to reach Alice first, bending down to place a chaste kiss on her lips and hear a whispered _good morning, love_ against her mouth. Robin straightened up to find James watching them with the smile still firmly in place on his face. Robin only hesitated slightly before walking to him and mussing his hair. His smile, if possible, got bigger at that and he started giggling.

“James was filling me in on all the colors he knows, isn't that right, Jamie?” Alice informs when Robin sat down on her place at the kitchen table, smiling fondly at the boy while he nodded eagerly.

“Yes. Did you know the sun is yellow? And the ants in the _fowest_ is _bwon_. And the...” For the next minutes, James proceeded to tell them all about all the colors he knew of. There were only seven, and then Alice started pointing to random things in their kitchen and telling which color was it.

He pronounced purple like _upol_ ; red was _wed_ and it was the cutest thing Robin had ever heard in her entire life.

James was waving wildly with his hands, trying to impersonate a tree for some reason when he accidentally knocked down his still half full cup. The lid snapped off and then there was orange juice all over the floor; Robin was already halfway up to clean the mess when she noticed the expression on James' face.

He was staring wide-eyed at Robin, the same frightened expression he was wearing when he heard his father calling for him yesterday. It made Robin feel suddenly cold when it dawned on her that he was _scared_ of her.

Robin was very unsure of what to do next, she didn’t know what James thought that she was about to do and she didn't want to risk doing something that would startle him.

There was so much tension in the air whereas just a moment ago it was light-hearted and fun.

Lucky for all of them there was an Alice around.

“Jamie.” She called softly and he suddenly snapped out of it, turning to look at Alice with watery eyes and trembling lips. “It's okay. We're not mad at you. See, Nobin is just going to clean it up.” Alice told him soothingly, smiling warmly at him and Robin mimicked her, smiling as she got up and went to find a mop.

She made sure to walk very carefully when she got close to him but trying to project an air of nonchalance so he wouldn't feel uneasy. Alice was talking about how she does this all the time but it seemed like James was still stuck in whatever memory this brought up and soon his tears started to spill.

Alice and Robin exchanged a worried glance before Robin decided to try a different tactic.

“Hey, Nugget.” She called and James looked up at her; she honestly had no idea where the nickname came from, but it seemed like it worked; he no longer looked like he was so scared of her “Do you like cartoons?”

James sniffed. “ _Cawtoons_?”

The corners of Robin's mouth tugged up involuntary at that.

“Yeah.”

James stuck his thumb inside his mouth and shrugged; Robin was almost certain that he probably had never watched one before, but at least it seems like he was getting distracted.

“How about I show you? We can watch some on the TV in the living room.” James turned to look uncertainly at Alice and she just smiled and nodded at him, talking about how much she loved cartoons, at that James turned back to Robin and nodded at her too.

“Okay. Can I pick you up then?” Robin asked placating; not mentioning that she didn't want him to step on the juice on the floor.

James didn't consult Alice this time; he simply nodded again and lifted both arms up, going willingly into Robin's arms.

Alice got up to follow them; saying that they could clean it all up later. Robin felt like she had just defused a ticking bomb.

* * *

 

Killian called Alice’s phone early that morning to update them on the situation. James' father had waked up very confused inside a jail cell; he was hungover and didn't remember a lot of what happened the evening before.

Killian questioned him about the accusations of child abandonment, but the man, of course, denied everything, though it wasn't very hard to extricate the truth from him.

James' mom had died when he was only eleven months old and the man, Albert Russel, he said his name was, had been taking care of James ever since. It was a true miracle the kid had survived this long without anything happening to him; Albert apparently left him home alone three or four days every week. His wife death had wrecked him and he had taken all this on James.

Killian felt a little bad for him.

“Listen, sir.” He said impassively. “If you want to keep your kid, you need to man up. You can’t just let a three-years-old alone and hope for the best. Either step up or you’re going to lose him.”

Albert just kept staring right ahead, as if Killian wasn’t speaking to him, and well, Killian had no sympathy to spare a man like this. After that, he only told Albert that he could either sign away his rights or they could get a judge involved.

He had signed the papers without thinking twice, not even bothering to ask what would happen to James; not a sign of sadness or regret on his face.

Killian really had to hold in the urge to punch him on the face right there and then.

How could someone be like this? He would have given _everything_ he owned, everything that was asked of him just to have the same chances this man was getting right now. And here was him, wasting it all; not caring about none of it.

The _tick tack_ of his pen hitting the desk repeatedly was the only sound inside his office; Killian kept going over and over yesterday's events, then what happened at the station today. One thing he was certain of: James was better off without that man.

Through it all there was always a bit of shining hope; he had seen something on Alice's eyes that he wasn't sure her daughter was even aware of yet.

He could bet his hook that that kid wasn't going anywhere.

* * *

 

The social worker that Killian had contacted would come over in the earlier afternoon and for some reason, Robin was a pile of nerves since that particular call. Alice watched amusedly as she paced the length of their living room while they waited for the social worker.

The man knocked on their door precisely at a quarter past one and introduced himself as Dylan Mark; he was a very tall and thin man, awkwardly so, probably fresh out of college, with floppy dark hair stopping just above his shoulders and black-rimmed glasses that he was constantly fidgeting with in a manner that made Robin want to fidget with hers too.

James had passed out just half an hour ago after they all had had lunch, and Alice told her that it looked like he had been up long before she had even woken up.

The three of them sat quietly at the dining table, waiting for Dylan to sort through the papers he had taken out of his briefcase; when he was done, he made them go through what yesterday’s events a couple of times, asking how was James and then informing them again how the father had signed away his rights.

He was going on and on about James’ Foster placement; they were going to place him with an emergency family, but Dylan assured them that he would immediately start to look for a more permanent home for him. There were a lot of parents more than willing to adopt a three-years-old and he was sure that James wouldn’t stay in foster care for too long.

Robin didn’t exactly distrust him as much as she thought that his confidence on the matter was a little bit misplaced. Under the table Alice was squeezing the life out of her hand; Robin knew what she was thinking.

In front of them, Dylan kept talking but Robin had tuned him out, looking at Alice. They didn’t really need words to have the conversation that proceeded to happen between them: Robin and Alice hadn’t brought James with them the day before with the intention of keeping him, but now that he was there, they didn’t really want to let him go.

“-And the…” Dylan trailed off, clearing his throat to get the attention of the women that were clearly not interested in what he was saying right now. 

With a last nod to Robin, Alice turned back to look at him.

“So, fostering James. How would this work?” She asked him cheerfully.

***

It turns out that the process to become a foster parent could take anywhere from three to six months, and in the meantime, James would have to stay with someone else.

That really wasn’t an option for them.

They could start the adoption process, but that could take even longer and James would have to stay with someone else.

That wasn’t an option too.

In the end, they settled for applying to be James legal guardians. Usually, that should take a little while too, but since Albert had terminated his rights and there wasn’t anyone else to fight them for him, they could expedite the process a little bit.

Also, it wasn't like Storybrooke court was overflowing with audiences or anything; so you know, a call from the Queen and they could see a judge as early as in the late afternoon of that same day.

Of course, they still would have to go through all the other legal hoops; there would be regular home visits for the next few months, but their background checks had been quickly completed that same day and came back clean.

In the end, the judge hadn’t seen a reason to not grant them James’ custody.

***

So, Robin and Alice were going to become James' legal guardians for now and apply to adopt him once they were finally married.

Zelena and Chad came around that night again, armed with at least eight bags from Storybrooke’s one and only children clothing store.

Killian showed up not even an hour later, with a couple of large cardboard boxes that he informed them would become a bed as soon as he was done assembling it.

He and Chad moved to James’ new bedroom, also known as the small room that was supposed to be their home office but that was only used by Alice when she was painting.

They had moved everything out of there earlier that day, before their appointment at the court so they could show Dylan that they did have the space for James.

Robin was a bit skeptical if Chad and Killian would actually succeed to anything, but she really shouldn't have worried. The bed was brought on Storybrooke's very own equivalent of IKEA, except that the instructions came in English so it wasn’t actually that hard to assemble it and in less than an hour they were already done.

Technically, James should already be asleep, but the excitement of having all those new people doting on him was keeping him up. Besides, his afternoon nap had gone well into the afternoon, so that was probably the real reason he wasn’t so tired now.

Robin made a mental note to let this be the one and only time, and that he would really go to bed at a more appropriated time tomorrow. But for today they could let him be, just for a while longer.

When the bed was all done and Killian had firmly sat on it to assure that it was in fact very sturdy, he went back to his car to retrieve the mattress; he had also bought a set of blue sheets with tiny, multicolored illustrations of various ships printed all over it. It was honestly too adorable.

The home-office-turned-into-room wasn't all that big, because when Robin and Alice were looking for a house they really didn't foresee that a child would be moving in with them so soon. The house they chose had been purposefully small, meant to be cozy but not cramped: a simple one-bedroom for two people.

The house only had one floor; the front door led directly into the living room, a door to the right lead into the bedroom, where there were the built-in closets and the fully equipped en-suite.

The dining room was to the right of the living room, and directly in front of the dining room was the kitchen, where a door to the left would lead to the backyard. Across the living room and directly beside the dining room was the small room that was supposed to be the home office and then the half-bath.

Alice had had all her paint supplies there and an easel set near the window; Robin liked to sit there on the floor with her back to the wall and read while Alice was panting. It still was really small, even after all of Alice's stuff had been removed and packed away, but Robin supposed that it would do just fine for a small three-years-old. They would definitely need to think of something else once he grew up, but they wouldn’t need to worry about that for while still.

Everyone was cramped inside James's new bedroom; Killian had asked him if he would like to test his brand new bed by jumping on it and his whole face lighted up at the suggestion; they didn’t have to ask twice.

James immediately flung himself onto the bed and started to jump up and down on the mattress, squealing and laughing like that was the most fun he ever had in his life.

Robin and Zelena were hovering near, just in case; but everyone else seemed to be having just as much fun watching James as he was, clapping and smiling at his antics.

Robin caught Alice's eyes and smiled at her, that same warm feeling she always got when her love was looking at her spreading down her chest. Alice's lips stretched into that crooked smile that was Robin's favorite in the world.

Yeah, the message was clear: they did the right thing.

Five minutes later and James had finally stopped and laid on the bed, looking for all the world like all that jumping had burned the last of his energy and he was ready to fall asleep. Alice had gone back to their own bedroom to pick up some blankets and pillows.

Zelena sat down on the edge of the bed, making sure to leave some space between her and James.

“So, James. What’s your favorite color?” She asked, smiling down at the little boy.

“ _Gween_!” James promptly replied, without having to think about it.

“Really?” Zelena smile widened, she seemed genuinely excited at that. “I already like you, James. Now," she winked at him, “look at this.” Zelena waved her hand once and the familiar green smoke came out of nowhere only to disappear quickly, revealing bright green walls that had previously been a light beige. Alice had wanted to paint them since they had moved in, claiming that it was too boring, but they never came around to it.

James looked around in amazement letting out a soft _wow._ Zelena seemed very proud of herself at that one.

Alice came back soon after, stopping short at the doorway and blinking at the new walls; she told James that she loved what he had done with the space but it was time to go to sleep.

One by one, everyone filled out of the room, saying their goodnights until only Robin and Alice remained, James just stayed where he was in the bed in the brand new pajamas Zelena and Chad had bought, yawning.

Alice tucked him under the blanket while Robin set the pillow under his head, whispering him a “ _night night_ ” and waiting for him to say it back. She had to hold in the urge to place a kiss on his forehead. Alice stood beside Robin whispering her own goodnight to him and reaching out to move some hair from his forehead; seeming like she too wanted to do something else.

“Alright, big man.” She said finally. “We're gonna let the living room's light on for you. So if you wake up during the night just come and call for one of us, okay.”

James simply nodded and turned to lie on his side, sticking his thumb inside his mouth. He was asleep before Alice and Robin had even reached the door; they turned off the overhead lights and left the room silently, turning to look at James one last time before pulling slightly at the door so it was only half closed.

That night, after everyone had gone their way, and they have finally laid down on their own bed, the last thing Robin remembered seeing was the ring on Alice's hand that was gripping her shirt. The last thought on her head, while Alice let out softs puffs of breath on her collarbone, was one of amazement.

Tomorrow they need to go shopping for all sorts of things.

They needed a wardrobe for the clothes they would have to buy; curtains and a rug; more sheets and blankets; a chest for the toys they would certainly buy him too.

Oh, shoes too.

Also, parenting books for Robin and Alice; and now that she thought about it they should probably buy some children's books for James too.

Crayons; kids liked crayons, right? They would probably need a bookshelf too, maybe?

Okay, that was probably enough for a day of shopping, Alice didn't like going to the mall too much and the space...”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm don't like too much how this part turned out but I had to stop editing it at some point this century.  
> I hope you guys enjoyed it.


End file.
